TrailBlazers Impact

Captain Michael Abrashoff is a naval commander, NY Times best-selling author, leadership and teamwork expert, and keynote speaker. He became Commander of USS Benfold and was the most junior commanding officer in the Pacific fleet at just 36 years. He has worked with over 1200 organizations instilling leadership initiatives at every level since leaving the navy. In this episode, Michael talks about the leadership lessons he learned ...

Alison Gross weaves a fascinating story of excelling as a worldwide event planner of global events such as in Monte Carlo to coordinating the Maccabi games and a world sailing race in the U.S. She's all about thought leadership and models it through her blogs. She started a business during COVID and explained how the new normal would be different but would adapt. She then talks about adaptive reuse and how cities like New York ...

Elle Travis is the founder and CEO of Caregivers of Mother Earth, a nonprofit on a mission to conduct education programs for youth to engender love and appreciation for mother earth. She’s been a pioneer for women since the mid-1970s and is now a pioneer in the world of alternative and energy healing. In this episode, Elle describes how her mom influenced her life today and how she has evolved in her journey as an entrepreneur and ...

Ep. 230 - LaFarris Risby rose from abuse to become a successful entrepreneur even as a young teen mother. She describes her journey and shares some of the valuable lessons she’s learned in the nearly 3 decades of her entrepreneurial journey. LaFarris Risby is a business strategist, consultant, author, public speaker, and calls herself a community stabilizer. She helps entrepreneurs uplevel in every aspect of their lives and has suc...

Jayne Benkendorf is a certified health coach, author, speaker, and national marketing director at Juice Plus. She wrote and published five books focused on health and wellness over 30 years ago. She’s keen on educating adults and children on the value of health and how to attain better health. In this episode, Jayne explains how we can improve our health and wellness by eating good quality foods and the importance of self-care for ...

A respected leader with forty-five years of combined executive, nonprofit, and leadership experience, Elizabeth A Jones serves as the National President of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women (NCBW). In this role, her focus is on implementing core values that will push NCBW members to push themselves to excel beyond what they think they can achieve in service. In this episode, Elizabeth demonstrates how she is using her leade...

Lynne Hardin is the Founder/President of Justice4All and a certified professional facilitator. Mary Rounds is the managing partner of the LegalShield Division where she is an attorney in the general practice of law, with emphasis on adoption, family law, employment law, special education law, and business law. In this episode, Mary Rounds talks about employment and business law and how to be vigilant in protecting yourself as a bus...

If you’re having second thoughts on whether to go against the grain and choose the path to your purpose, this is your episode. DeLisa Guerrier shares how she made a career turnaround from a biology premed to a successful real estate developer. Listen to this powerhouse who is creating the Storyville Gardens Theme Park in Nashville as the youngest addition to the Enterprising Women Hall of Fame. DeLisa Guerrier is the managing partn...

Terry Neese is a serial entrepreneur, small business advocate, international relations executive, and past NAWBO national president. She’s also the founder and CEO of the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women (IEEW), which is focused on educating women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan and Rwanda. I had the pleasure of getting to know Terry and her fantastic operation when I was invited to podcast women during their Leadership Sum...

What would it be like to be responsible for negotiating a trade agreement with China or Japan or any other world country? Imagine yourself about to take a high-level job with the Federal government when the news came on about the Saturday Night Massacre. Carla Hills takes us on a journey through her very interesting life, working directly with several United States Presidents. Carla A. Hills is a high-profile, powerful woman, havin...

Suzanne Webb started her career in healthcare at Universal Health Services more than 3 decades ago. She’s the founder of Exclusive Surgery Solutions, a surgery benefit for self-insured employers that focuses on offering a bundled surgery product. In this episode, Suzanne talks about the dos and don’ts of healthcare insurance by employers and the benefits of using a surgery benefit like Exclusive Surgery Solutions. Listen in to lear...

Riah Gonzalez is the Founder and CEO of Linq Consulting Services, a female-focused, heart-centered Virtual Assistant Matchmaking company. She empowers her fellow business-owner clients with the right connections, positive energy, and meaningful relationships. Her Virtual Assistant Matchmaking service connects business owners to strong and powerful women who will be there for them every step of the way. Her motto is “If you want to ...

Are you harboring fears that are stopping you from pivoting to your passion? Robin Brewton explains to us how she overcame her fears and took an entrepreneurship leap and is now making a difference. Robin Brewton is in the early stages of her pivot to becoming an executive coach and describes herself as being an interior designer for businesses. She spent 20+ years in human resources and the operations side of the business in b...

Ep. 218 - AlissaBeth Jane Morton is a very talented singer and dancer I met while she was performing on the Azamara Pursuit cruise ship. We talked about what led her to perform on a cruise ship. She has done over 100 stage shows in her life. Take a look at her Reels to see the depth and breadth of her talent. In this episode, AlissaBeth describes her career journey, the different shows she has performed, and her hopes for the futur...

Katie Mehnert - If you are curious about how you can get involved with energy entrepreneurship while still being sustainable, this is your episode. Interviewed by Christi Woodworth, Vice-President of Corporate Communications, Brand and Marketing at OGE Energy Corp, Katie Mehnert is a modern architect of culture change in energy. Her focus is the intersection of equity, sustainability, environment, and economy. She gives professiona...

Does LinkedIn mystify you? Have you ever wondered what folks mean when they say “optimize your LinkedIn profile?” Do your posts on LinkedIn get attention from the people you want to reach? If you’ve ever asked yourself these questions, and especially if you are born between 1946 and 1964, Joyce can help you. Being on the older end of the baby boomer generation, she identifies with the frustrations that folks in her age group have w...